tracked winner until ridden 2f out, weakened inside final furlong
tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon outpaced
made all, pushed along over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on gamely
tracked leaders, eased out right to chase winner well over 1f out, edged right inside final furlong, no impression towards finish
raced in last, pushed along 3f out, stayed on to take 3rd 1f out, no impression
The rain-softened ground looks likely to be against both the promising Salisbury maiden winner Barq and triple six furlong winner Midnight Fantasy, so we will take them on with HI SHINKO. Darryll Holland takes the mount on the four-year-old as he did when they were successful at Epsom a couple of weeks ago. He handles this track very well, races over his optimum trip and also acts with cut in the ground, so he has plenty in his favour. Nezami is another who does not seem to be as effective when conditions are slower than good and instead the danger to our pick may come chiefly from the mudlark Miss Bootylishes, who is capable of going very close from a mark of 74. Safari Mischief has stamina doubts and Hi Shinko can score.
Nezami (IRE) 14-1 (9-1) Raced wide, held up, headway to track leaders 3f out, ridden 2f out, no extra inside final furlong, 5th of 9, 7l behind Fleeting Echo (8-12) at Newbury 7f hcp 0-95 (3) gs.
Safari Mischief 12-1 (9-4) Held up, ridden halfway, no impression, 6th of 10, 6l behind Brynfa Boy (8-13) at Epsom Downs 5f hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Jul.
Hi Shinko 9-2 (9-10) Made all, ridden over 2f out, joined 1f out, stayed on gamely, won at Epsom Downs 7f hcp 0-75 (5) gd beating Another Try (9-6) by 1 1/4l, 8 ran.
Barq (IRE) 2-5fav (9-3) Led early, prominent, led over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, all out towards finish, just held on, won at Salisbury 7f 3yo & 4yo mdn (4) gf beating Magic Jack (9-3) by hd, 8 ran.
Midnight Fantasy 17-2 (9-0) Slowly away, always in rear, eased final furlong, 9th of 11, 11l behind Tyfos (9-6) at Newmarket 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gd.
Miss Bootylishes 16-1 (9-8) Prominent, pressed winner from over 2f out until entering final furlong, stayed on same pace, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Ken's Girl (9-5) at Windsor 1m flls hcp 0-75 (5) sft.